MSGID: 1:317/3 62735312   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    A new wearable technology -- for plants    
      
     Date:   
         May 4, 2022   
     Source:   
         American Chemical Society   
     Summary:   
         Plants can't speak up when they are thirsty. And visual signs,   
         such as shriveling or browning leaves, don't start until most of   
         their water is gone. To detect water loss earlier, researchers have   
         created a wearable sensor for plant leaves. The system wirelessly   
         transmits data to a smartphone app, allowing for remote management   
         of drought stress in gardens and crops.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Plants can't speak up when they are thirsty. And visual signs, such as   
   shriveling or browning leaves, don't start until most of their water   
   is gone.   
      
   To detect water loss earlier, researchers reporting in ACS Applied   
   Materials & Interfaces have created a wearable sensor for plant   
   leaves. The system wirelessly transmits data to a smartphone app,   
   allowing for remote management of drought stress in gardens and crops.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Newer wearable devices are more than simple step-counters. Some smart   
   watches now monitor the electrical activity of the wearer's heart with   
   electrodes that sit against the skin. And because many devices can   
   wirelessly share the data that are collected, physicians can monitor and   
   assess their patients' health from a distance. Similarly, plant-wearable   
   devices could help farmers and gardeners remotely monitor their plants'   
   health, including leaf water content - - the key marker of metabolism and   
   drought stress. Previously, researchers had developed metal electrodes   
   for this purpose, but the electrodes had problems staying attached,   
   which reduced the accuracy of the data. So, Renato Lima and colleagues   
   wanted to identify an electrode design that was reliable for long-   
   term monitoring of plants' water stress, while also staying put.   
      
   The researchers created two types of electrodes: one made of nickel   
   deposited in a narrow, squiggly pattern, and the other cut from partially   
   burnt paper that was coated with a waxy film. When the team affixed both   
   electrodes to detached soybean leaves with clear adhesive tape, the   
   nickel-based electrodes performed better, producing larger signals as   
   the leaves dried out. The metal ones also adhered more strongly in the   
   wind, which was likely because the thin squiggly design of the metallic   
   film allowed more of the tape to connect with the leaf surface. Next,   
   the researchers created a plant-wearable device with the metal electrodes   
   and attached it to a living plant in a greenhouse. The device wirelessly   
   shared data to a smartphone app and website, and a simple, fast machine   
   learning technique successfully converted these data to the percent of   
   water content lost. The researchers say that monitoring water content   
   on leaves can indirectly provide information on exposure to pests and   
   toxic agents. Because the plant-wearable device provides reliable data   
   indoors, they now plan to test the devices in outdoor gardens and crops   
   to determine when plants need to be watered, potentially saving resources   
   and increasing yields.   
      
   The authors acknowledge support from the São Paulo Research   
   Foundation and the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory. Two of   
   the study's authors are listed on a patent filing application for the   
   technology.   
      
   Video: https://youtu.be/i864_c0fvVg   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by American_Chemical_Society. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Ju'lia A. Barbosa, Vitoria M. S. Freitas, Lourenc,o H. B. Vidotto,   
         Gabriel R. Schleder, Ricardo A. G. de Oliveira, Jaqueline F. da   
         Rocha, Lauro T. Kubota, Luis C. S. Vieira, He'lio C. N. Tolentino,   
         Itamar T.   
      
         Neckel, Angelo L. Gobbi, Murilo Santhiago, Renato   
         S. Lima. Biocompatible Wearable Electrodes on Leaves toward the   
         On-Site Monitoring of Water Loss from Plants. ACS Applied Materials   
         & Interfaces, 2022; DOI: 10.1021/ acsami.2c02943   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220504100924.htm   
      
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